In this age of dwindling natural resources, specifically oil, natural gas and electricity, the heating of homes has become a major expense. Even wood as a fuel (with which most people are acquainted) is in short supply in some areas. There is need, therefore, to use such fuel as efficiently as possible, extracting the full BTU value as is mechanically practical in a device having no powered assists. Further, such a heating device should be at least semi-automatic to conform to the habits of a generation used to automatic applicances. Such a device should also take the place of an open fireplace which an affluent generation has come to expect as a necessary part of a home but which is notoriously wasteful of the natural wood resource and, in fact, heats very little and, in some cases, extracts more heat than it provides.